Someone to Lean on
by Elillierose
Summary: When a missile from the Imperial army knocks the group off course, and with a man basically out of commission they must travel through the forest to gain distance between them and their enemy. I just like being cruel to Prompto. C:
1. The Tumble

**No need to worry about me not finishing this one, since I basically already have it finished. Just waiting between chapters before I post them. C:**

The sun was bearing down on the group of four, more so than it has in days. Kind of hard to believe considering they didn't think the heat could get any worse. Noctis was in the back seat doing what he could to block the intruding rays from unprotected eyes. Scoffing, he turned his head to the side, that way it at least wasn't piercing into him directly. "How much longer Iggy? I'm ready to get out of this heat."

"I would say approximately half an hour, given we don't run into any complications along the way." Ignis replied as he turned onto another back road. At this point the had been driving for about an hour already, which was one hour too long to be in that heat for anyone's liking.

"What's the matter Noct? This heat messing up your do or something?" Prompto piped up from the front, with a light-hearted chuckle.

"You're one to talk, your hair is looking a little worse for wear from where I'm sitting." Noctis countered when he noticed the slight wilting in the blonde's hair, earning himself his own laugh.

He playfully panicked, reaching up to feel his own hairstyle, "What?! You're kidding right? Do you know how much effort it takes to make this happen?"

"Effort?" Gladio joined in on the jokes, "Looks to me like you just let chocobos lick it into place."

"Not cool." Prompto whined, "I work really hard on it." He was combing his fingers through the strands, trying hopelessly to get them into their original position.

"Can you three please settle down? You are being a bit distracting at the moment." Ignis asked deceptively politely, but it was pretty obvious to sense the underlying annoyance.

"Aw, come on Iggy, lighten up a little." Prompto replied, with a light punch to the shoulder. "It's just a little harmless banter."

"Yeah, it could do you some good to be a little less serious occasionally." Noctis backed up.

"I'll be less serious when all of our lives aren't literally in my hands."

"Fine, fine, be a kill joy." Prompto joked as he turned to look out the window. Gazing down the side of the rather steep hill, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. "What the hell is that?" He asked, straining his eyes to make out anything he could as it quickly got closer.

"What is it?" Ignis asked as he glanced in the direction the younger was staring at. "It's kind of hard to tell form this dis-"

Their world was abruptly engulfed in flames as they were forcefully lurched to the right, the blast from the left side of the vehicle propelling them off course. No one had an opportunity to react to the sudden impact; the motion had been enough to knock the breath out of each one of them. They could hear nothing aside from the destruction of the Regalia; the sounds of scraping and groaning metal against rock as it made it's descent down the slope.

They came to an immediate stop when they finally made it to the bottom of the slope. Smoke was steadily streaming from the side of the car, rising up and filling the sky. As the last of the creaks began to dissipate, Ignis slowly came to as he could feel something running down the side of his head. Sluggishly opening his eyes, he tentatively placed his fingers to the liquid's origins, sucking in a breath as they came away bloody.

He glanced around, seeing that everyone else was coming around as well, "Is everyone alright?" He asked worriedly, glancing around to everyone.

"I think I'm alright." Gladio called from the back. "Noct just seems to have a pretty deep gash on his arm, but it doesn't look too serious." He added as he applied a bit of pressure to the wound.

"Glad to hear." He averted his attention to Prompto who was just staring forward. "And you Prom? Everything alright with you?"

He glanced down at his feet then back to Ignis. "I-I don't know, I think so?"

"What do you mean, 'you don't know?'" Ignis asked rather impatiently.

He looked away once again, "Well I..." He took a deep breath, "I can't feel much below my right knee." He went to try and move it, resulting in an intense sharp pain shooting in both directions, originating in his knee. The agonizing feeling was enough to cause him to cry out as he grabbed his leg, fingers gripping into the fabric in a futile attept to alleviate the pain.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Ignis asked urgently. Noctis sat stunned in the back, the sudden outburst shocking him.

Prompto only sat there for about a minute, taking in short gasps, trying to ride out the waves before he was able to reply. "Knee" He ground out between his teeth. He took a deep breath as it finally began to dull down a bit, although it still throbbed immensely. "Don't know what happened there." He continued in a low voice, leaning his head back into the seat.

"Let's get everyone out, and then I want everyone to have a thorough look over." Ignis flatly stated as he stepped out of the vehicle, making his way around in case the youngest of the group need assistance. Gladio and Noctis stepped out as well, the ladder holding a hand over the still bleeding laceration, stunting the blood flow at least a small amount.

Ignis opened the door for Prompto, holding out a hand for him, basically telling him to accept his help and not complain about it. He accepted it, and braced himself as the other strongly pulled him up. He was especially careful with his injured leg, keeping it as still as he could, desperately not wanting a repeat of what happened moments ago. He hobbled out on one leg, highly dependent on Ignis to keep him upright.

"Easy now." Ignis encouraged as Prompto jarred his leg a bit, gripping tightly onto his shoulder as he did so. "Slow and steady." He allowed Ignis to support most of his weight as he painstakingly hopped along, joining with the other two a few feet away.

"Thanks Iggy." He sheepishly said as he was slowly lowered to the ground, back against a small tree.

Ignis crouched down, "I'm sorry I have to say this, but we are going to need to remove your pants in order to get a proper look at the injury."

Prompto cringed at the suggestion, "You know what, it suddenly doesn't hurt as bad anymore." He went to move it again to try and prove his point, only to immediately stop and suck in another sharp breath.

"Prom, stop being a baby and let the man do what he has to do, or I'll have to hold you down and force you to comply." Gladio said, folding his arms from a foot away.

"Fine, just let me do it though." He gave in, not liking the thought of someone else stripping him and began to unbutton them, slowly and carefully pulling them down. He stopped once he got down to his knees, hesitating and trying to mentally prepare himself for the discomfort it would cause. Both physical and emotional discomfort that was about to ensue. He went to pull them down more, but had to stop when the small motion caused a flare up.

Looking down to the ground, face flushed with slight embarrassment, he had to ask, "Um...can, can someone help with this part?" He closed his eyes, hating himself for having to ask such a thing. He knew they wouldn't judge him for or give him a hard time considering the circumstance, but it hurt his pride nonetheless.

"There's no need to be ashamed." Ignis comforted as he made to give a hand. Before he could even see the full view of his knee he could already tell it was bad. Bruises were peaking through the edge of the fabric. He let out a sympathetic sigh as he prepared for the worst. Once he had them removed he took in the full extent of the damage, and saying it wasn't pretty would be an understatement. It was dark in color, and it looked almost...deformed in a way.

Both Gladio and Noctis winced at the sight of it. Prompto hadn't looked at it yet, he was too busy keeping his breathing steady. "How bad is it?" He asked after catching his breath.

"I won't know for sure until I can inspect it." He gently placed his hand on his knee, feeling around with his fingers and adding minimal pressure to test out the joint. Prompto whimpered from his spot, doing his best not to instinctively pull away. Ignis clicked his tongue in disapproval and removed his hand. "Gladio, I think I may need your help with this."

"Wh-why? What is it?" Prompto asked nervously, still refusing to look.

Ignis hesitated before answering, knowing full well that telling him was probably a bad idea. "It appears that your knee is dislocated." He gave a moment for that to sink in. "And I'm afraid we can't leave it like that. It's going to have to be popped back into place."

Prompto paled a little at what that entailed, and he knew it would be far from pleasant. "How are you gonna do that?" He asked, his voice a little higher than usual.

"Gladio, I'm going to need you to hold him still. No matter how hard he tries, he's not going to be able to hold it together when I do this." Ignis waited until Gladio was in place and had a firm hold on the blonde. "Prompto, let me know when you're ready."

He took in a shakey breath, "As ready as I'll ever be I suppose." Ignis curtly nodded in response.

"On the count of three then. One. Two. Three." In one swift motion there was a repulsive and loud pop followed directly by Prompto's misery filled scream. A few tears rolled down his face and his breaths were coming out in quick gasps. "Ok, it's over with now. How are you holding up?" Ignis looked up when he didn't get a response. "Prompto?"

Gladio gazed down when he felt the weight shift in his hold, followed by his breath evening out. He looked at his face and saw that his eyes were closed, not tightly closed, but normally. "I think he passed out."

"I'd be more surprised if he didn't." Ignis said, feeling his pulse. "He'll be fine though. We still need to splint it to minimize movement for now, but we need to get to a safer spot first. I have no doubt the imperials will follow us after that missle. They know exactly where we are." He switched his attention to Noctis who was still standing nearby, hand still covering his cut. "How bad is your arm?" He added as he went back to the Regalia and fetched their sparce medical supplies.

"It can wait, I'll be fine until we get to where ever we're going." He replied, staring down at his friend.

"Very well. Gladio, could you carry Prompto? Be mindful of his leg though." Gladio nodded and pulled his pants back up, to spare his pride if nothing else, before lifting the youngest and draping him over his shoulder. "Let's move, we've been here too long as it is." He began heading deeper into the forest, followed closely by the other two.

They traveled for a short time until Ignis declared they were far enough and in a thicker part of the forest to go practically unnoticed. It was a fairly small clearing, enough to keep them well hidden, but it was comfortable enough for them to gather themselves for however long they may need. Gladio delicately removed Prompto from his shoulder and lied him down, making sure his right leg was straight.

While Gladio did that, Ignis was checking Noctis's would for him. Cleaning it and wrapping it until he deemed it taken care of well enough for the time being. Once done, he made is way over to the other injured member of the party. "I need two sturdy sticks. I want to get this splinted before he comes around. It will spare him at least a little bit of displeasure."

"I can go find a couple." Noctis called from behind, quickly walking off in his search. Ignis removed his jacket and folded it to try and prop up Prompto's leg somewhat. Just as he finished that, Noctis showed up with the makeshift splints.

"Noct, I need to you to place them in either side of his knee and hold them tightly in place. Don't worry about hurting him, they need to prevent movement." He did as he was told, and Ignis began securely wrapping them in place, making sure everything would stay in place, but also that Prompto would be unable to bend it. "That should do it, now we just wait until he comes to, which shouldn't be too long."

Everyone took a seat on the ground, aside from Gladio who went off in search of fire wood, considering they might be stuck there for a little while with no reception. While he was off, Ignis was aware of the slight hitch in Prompto's breathing. Glancing over to him he saw that his eyes had started to flutter a bit. As soon as he was aware enough, a grimace of pain graced his face. "Son of a bitch." he lightly swore as it finally hit him. He looked around him, "Where are we?"

"At least I don't need to ask you how you're feeling." Ignis began, "We had to move further into the forest to prevent any ambushes from the Imperials. We may be here for a while, so get comfortable."

"Easier said than done." Prompto replied, struggling to sit up without pulling on his leg too much. Noctis got up at this point to help him scoot back to lean against a tree again. "Thanks" He smiled at his friend, then looked around again. "Where's Gladdy?" He asked, not seeing any sign of the giant of a man.

"He went to get fire wood." Ignis answered. "He left only a few minutes ago."

"And is everyone else ok? I mean, no one else is hurt, are they?"

"I can asure you, we are all somewhat unscathed. A bruise here, a cut there, but all in all, mostly unharmed."

Prompto sighed in relief, "That's good, I'm glad." He smiled to the others and leaned his head against the tree. "What exactly happened back there anyway. What hit us?"

Ignis put his head down, "Missile. It seems the Imperials are after us. It will be safer if we stay here for a little bit and wait until the move on. It's not in our best interest to be fighting anyone at them moment when we are down a man." He nodded towards Prompto's leg, who followed his gaze adn frowned at the damaged appendage.

"How bad is it?" He asked, afraid of what the answer may be.

Ignis thought on how best to word it. "It wasn't ideal, but you definitely won't be walking on it for a while. I managed to get the bones back in place where they should be, but I can't be certain of the true extent of the damage. I recommend you keep it elevated as much as you can though."

Prompto sat silent as he soaked it all in, then nodded in understanding, obviously a little down at the news. "At least it will still heal eventually." He said after a while, trying to stay positive.

"Yes, it will, with time of course." Ignis stated. standing up when he noticed Gladio had returned. He met him at the edge of the clearing, taking some of the wood he brought back and helped him to carry it to the center of the area.

Noctis turned his attention back to Prompto, "So, how are you holding up? Aside from, you know."

"Oh you know, I'm doing good. I mean, yeah, I'm not happy about this situation, but it could have been worse. Better me than one of you guys anyway." His voice was laced with certainty, honestly believing he was more expendable.

"No, it would have been better if it was no one." Noctis retorted.

"Maybe." Prompto straightened himself up a little, gasping slightly when his leg moved. "Seriously though, glad you all are ok at least." His eyes landed on the bandage around Noctis's arm, "Well, mostly ok."

Noctis followed his gaze, "Oh, right, this is nothing. Should be fine within a few days. But, do you need anything?"

"Hmm? Oh nah, I'm good." He perked up a bit when he finally remembered something. Feeling around in his pockets frantically, his face fell a bit when he couldn't locate it. "Um, by any chance, have you seen my camera?" He asked as he rechecked himself, hoping that he had just overlooked it.

"No, I haven't, are you sure it wasn't left in the Regalia?"

"No, I'm certain I had it on me. Oh man, it must have fallen out in the crash. You have got to be kidding me." He put his head in his hands, "I really liked that one."

Noctis looked down for a second before looking back up, "If you want we can probably go back and check tomorrow."

"Are you sure? It sounds like it might not be a good idea with the Imperial so close. It's fine, I can just save up for another, it's no big deal."

Before Noctis had the chance to persist, Ignis came up behind him. "It's getting pretty late, and with these trees it will be darker than usual. It would be best for you two to be closer to the fire." Noctis complied without complaint. Ignis bent down to lift Prompto up, and with his help he was able to painfully hop over. He lowered him down, sympathizing with every wince and groan the came with the movement. He went back to retrieve his jacket so he could once again place it under Prompto's leg.

"I'm sorry about all this inconvenience." The blonde mumble timidly, lying back on the ground.

"It's really not an issue." Noctis quickly replied. "If you were that much of a burden you wouldn't be with us now."

"He's right you know." Gladio spoke up, "Now, you guys try and get some sleep, I'll be keeping first watch, so no need to worry about anything sneaking up." He didn't have to say it twice, all of them were tired and sore from the earlier events, and fell asleep with ease.


	2. Inconvenience

Prompto awoke rather early for him, the consistent aching in his knee pulling him out of his merciful slumber. It was still fairly dark out, but there was a tinge of light to the sky. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and took a look around. Everyone else was asleep aside from Ignis, who was standing nearby, but hadn't noticed the other's presence yet. He sat in silence for a while longer, not even bothering trying to get back to sleep, knowing it wouldn't do any good.

After a few moments he noticed how stiff he felt, and felt the need to move and stretch his muscles a bit, but he didn't want to risk flaring up his injury by giving in to that need. So, he settled for stretching his other limbs individually. It didn't completely rid him of his discomfort, but it did make it a little easier to bear.

The small movements were enough to draw Ignis's attention. He turned his gaze to so Prompto's awkward attempts at stretching. "I don't mean to disturb you, but you seem to be having a bit of trouble." He said with amusement.

The blonde slightly jumped, unaware that Ignis had seen him yet. "What? Me? Nah, no trouble here." He replied as he struggled to move his left leg without disrupting the other. "Maybe just a little, but nothing I cant handle."

Ignis ignored him and made his way over anyway, holding out a hand for him. "No reason why you can't stand for a bit, just so long as you put no pressure on that knee of yours." Prompto gladly accepted his hand, squeezing his eyes shut as he was pulled up and his leg moved for the first time since the night before.

He took a moment to catch his breath before nodding to Ignis, "Thanks." he breathed out, opening his eyes. He had one arm draped over Ignis's shoulders, making sure his foot was hovering just over the ground, not even letting his toes brush across the earth. He helped him hobble on over to a tree to hold onto so that he could step away t put the fire out.

"We will have to leave soon. We appear to be safe for the time being, but I cannot be certain how long we have before they find out where we are." He stepped over to Gladio, who woke up on the first attempt. Then moved on to the prince, who took a bit more persuasion to get moving.

"Ugh, why are you waking us up so early, the sun isn't even up yet." Noctis whined, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Less whining, more moving your ass." Gladio scolded as he helped to smother the last of the embers. "Ok, Prom, how are we doing this? You can hobble along with assistance, or I can throw you over my shoulder again."

The blonde nervously laughed, "Uhh, I think I would rather do whatever I can that doesn't involve being man handled."

"As you wish princess." Gladio replied, taking the trees spot as supporter. "Just make sure you let me know if the pain gets too much worse or anything." He shifted himself to make sure he was supporting the majority have the other's weight. He at least wanted to make the going for him as easy as he could. If Prompto was aware of what he was doing, he didn't say anything.

"Very well, if everyone is ready, we should set forth. We aren't too far from the Chocobo ranch, so we'll make our way there. It's probably about a day's travel normally, but given the circumstances, it may take more time than that. Hopefully we can get some reception before we reach there and give Cindy a call and see if she can come and pick up the Regalia."

"This is Cindy we're talking about." Prompto chimed dreamily, "Of course she can."

"Come on lover boy." Gladio said, practically dragging him along, "The faster you move, the sooner you'll get to see her again."

"I hope so, I miss her." He responded, absentmindedly hopping along.

"You just saw her yesterday." Noctis said from in front.

"Still, one day too long if you ask me."

Ignis was in the front, since he was the only one with any sense of direction, and he could usually spot danger with now issue. Luckily they had covered quite a bit of ground without any obstacles or surprises. The going was still a bit slow, but it was still considerably decent for someone with only one functioning leg. He threw the occasional glance back now and again, checking for any signs in Prompto's features that told him if he was still going strong, knowing that he wouldn't say anything if he wasn't. Fortunately, with Gladio's assistance he was doing quite well.

"How much further do we have to go?" Prompto asked, breathing heavily. Turns out that hopping on one leg took quite a bit of energy, even when someone was holding most of your weight.

Ignis thought for a moment, "Maybe about a fourth of the way there. We've been walking for approximately four hours anyway, so this is just a guess. Do you need to stop for a break?"

"No, no. I can go all day. Besides, we want to get out of here as soon as possible, right?" His voice carried a note to it that told the others he wouldn't stop until he absolutely had to, or until they made him.

"If you say so." Ignis stated before turning around and continuing forward.

It was well into the afternoon before their pace really began to take a toll. They had managed to travel for a good eight hours though. Prompto had slowed down considerably, but it was Gladio that finally spoke up. "Iggy, I think it's time for a quick break. We all could use one." He added that last bit for the blonde's sake, not wanting him to feel like they were stopping just for him, even if they kind of were.

Ignis took a look back, taking in how hard Prompto was breathing now, and how his fingers ever so slightly gripped Gladio's shoulder. "We'll go on for a little longer. We should be close to a river by now. We should stop there so we can get some water and maybe catch something to eat."

Gladio looked over the Prompto, "Think you can make it that far?"

"Yeah, of course." He took a few deep breaths, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." He tried to give him a reassuring smile, although it came off as a bit forced and unnatural.

"I'll take your word for it. Just make sure you don't over do i-"

"Everyone, get down!" Ignis called out of nowhere.

Ignis fell to the ground, grabbing Noctis and pulling him down as well. Gladio followed his example and pulled Prompto to the ground before using his own body to try and provide some protection. The harsh movement jerked his leg enough to make him cry out. As he was trying to fight off the blackness that threatened him, he could vaguely hear shots being fired rather close to them. He was also aware of himself being lifted. He didn't realize it until his vision had cleared a bit, be he could also his own quiet whimpers.

"Prompto, I need you to listen to me. Can you hear me?" Gladio was looking straight into his pain-filled eyes and waited for him to nod. "Ok, I'm going lie you down under these bushes. I need to to stay here, and not move. We'll take care of these guys." He gently placed him on the ground before running off to join the others.

He lied there, unmoving. Partially from the pain, but also because he didn't want to put himself in danger which would result in his friends needing to help him again. He listened as the battle waged on; he could hear ever shatter of an enemy and every battle cry from each of his friends. But he wasn't worried until he heard a different kind of scream. One of fear and surpise mingled into one. He peaked between the leaves to see one of them had Noctis pinned to the ground. The others had noticed, but they were too preoccupied to come to his aid.

In the spur of the moment, he drew his handgun, and took aim, directly at the thing's head. Without hesitation he pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet went straight through their head and they fell to the side, freeing Noctis.

Gladio instantaneously knew who the gunshot belonged to, having fought with the others long enough to know everything about them and their weapons. He shot a look over to find the end of his gun poking through. Out of the corner of his eye he saw another troop heading towards that same spot. He grit his teeth and fought harder against the three he was already fighting.

Prompto sighed in relief now that Noctis was no longer in danger and leaned back down, closing his eyes. He was torn from his reverie as the leaves began to rustle before a hand reached in and grabbed his wrist. He frantically pulled his hand out of their grasp and continued to drag himself deeper into the foliage. There was a bit more ruffling around and then there was a flash of light as something slashed by. Everything was silent for a second before someone busted through the curtain of leaves.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?!" Gladio asked rather harshly. Though it was more out of concern than anger. "You are in no condition to be fighting, you could have gotten yourself killed." He crouched down and helped the younger up and out before finishing his scolding. "I told you not to do anything." He took a steadying breath before adding in a softer and calmer tone, "We can't have you getting any more hurt than you already are, ok?"

"I-I know, I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry. Noctis was in trouble and you two were busy with your own enemies. I couldn't just watch." He looked down to the ground, but instantly looked back up when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, I appreciate the back-up" Noctis said, nodding his head. "You did good."

"We should get going, I doubt that will be all of them." Ignis interrupted the moment, eager to get to a safer place as soon as possible.

The others were quick to agree, all wanting to get out of this are as much as he did. With that they went on their way, ever so vigilant of their surroundings this time.


	3. Onward

**Since I have this story finished, I'll go ahead and upload on chapter today and the last one tomorrow, and then move on to the next one.**

With only half an hour longer of walking they arrived at the river Ignis had mentioned. It wasn't anything too impressive by any means, but it was sure to have some fish in it and would provide clean water if nothing else. Gladio sat Prompto down on a rock close by the water while Noctis wasted no time in getting started with the fishing. While he did that Gladio got to work with building a quick fire to cook the fish and Ignis scouted out the area.

Meanwhile Prompto sat there with nothing to do, feeling a little useless to be honest. He was the only one unable to help out any at the moment anyway. He watched on as Noctis did his fishing thing. deciding to stay silent so as not to disturb or distract him. He was never one for fishing, never had the patience for it, but that didn't stop him from being impressed by the skill it took. He reeled in his first fish and placed it next to him before casting his line out again.

By the time Noctis had caught four decently sized fish the other two had returned and were already setting things up. "Anything I can do to help?" Prompto asked at last, already tired of doing nothing. "Anything that doesn't involve getting up of course." He added on, to keep Ignis from reminding him of his limitations more than anything.

Knowing the gunner's desire to feel needed, Ignis told him the best thing that came to mind. "With all of us busy with other things, our attention will be a bit divided. It would be greatly appreciated if you could keep watch for us and let us know if you see anything at all out of the ordinary." It wasn't exactly the most useful thing, but he was greatful for the fact that Ignis was at least trying to give him something to do.

"Right, won't let ya down." He flashed him a smile and a thumbs up as he proceeded to scan the area. "So, do you think we'll be out by tonight?

"It isn't likely. We aren't even half way there yet, and there is little time left in the day. Sometime tomorrow afternoon sounds far more likely." He grabbed one of the fish and began to clean it and Gladio was set to work on starting a fire. "How is the pain right now?"

Prompto thought for a moment, "Not too bad now, as long as I stay perfectly still I mean."

"In that case, how bad is it when we are on the move."

"I get used to it. As long as I don't think about it it's actually pretty tolerable."

Ignis cut his eyes at him, "I didn't ask if you could bear it, I asked how it was."

"Oh right, of course." He averted his eyes down to his still throbbing knee. Up until now he had tried his best to ignore the pulsing pains that radiated from it. "Well, it hurts for sure, but it doesn't compare to when I'm moving around." He could even feel how stiff his muscles were from being in almost the same position for close to twenty-four hours. "And the splint doesn't help with that."

"It may not be comfortable, but that needs to stay right where it is."

"Yeah, I know." He let out a sigh as he went back to looking around them, determined to do his only assignment right if nothing else. Fortunately everything seemed peaceful to him, only the occasional bird or other animal, but other than that there was nothing to be concerned about. He fiddled with his thumbs a bit in his lap, feeling a little tired all of a sudden. The events had finally caught up with him, not to mention constantly trying to hide his obvious discomfort really took it out of him.

Ignis didn't miss the veil of exhaustion though, and could clearly see the dullness in his eyes and the dark circles that shadowed beneath them. He may have gotten more sleep than both him and Gladio, but he was also aware that it wasn't very restful sleep. "Why don't you take this time to rest instead?" He suggested.

"No, it's alright, I'm good."

"Good? You are barely keeping your eyes open." Noctis said as he joined Ignis in cleaning the fish.

Gladio had also finished getting the fire ready, "Yeah, go ahead to sleep, we'll be here for a little while, so you may as well." Without waiting for his answer he went ahead and pulled his arm around his shoulders and lowered him to the ground instead. Ignis handed him his jacket once ahead to add elevation.

"Really guys, I can handle going a while longer without sleep." Prompto tried to struggle away, but Gladio was holding him down with one hand.

"Shut up already." Gladio waved a hand, "You're already down there, and I'm not helping you back up. So you have two choices. One, you get up yourself without hurting yourself. Or two, you take a moment to rest. Up to you though." He got to his feet and folded his arms over his chest.

Prompto turned his head to the side, avoiding looking at everyone. He wasn't angry with any of them, of course, he just felt bad for not being able to help more in this predicament of theirs. And he knew it wasn't his fault, but that didn't help to ease the frustration he held. "Thanks guys." He said turning back to them. "Just don't let me sleep too long, ok? That means wake me up and let me move on my own and not pick me up while I'm still sleeping." He directed that last bit at the big guy.

"Don't worry, we'll wake ya." Gladio assured him.

"Besides, we need to wake you in order to eat. Wouldn't do anyone any good if you fainted on us from lack of strength." Ignis said from his spot on the ground. He got no response and looked over to see that the blonde had already fallen asleep.

"Sleep well, Prom" Gladio said quietly as he joined the other two in the preparation.

Prompto slowly came to when there was a light shaking on his shoulder. He was still quite tired and it almost felt like he didn't sleep at all, but he was aware of the passage of time. When he didn't open his eyes the persistent shaking got a bit rougher. "I'm awake." He whined out, still refusing to open his eyes, slumber's song still calling out to him to come back.

"If you are awake then open your eyes." Gladio said, nudging his arm with his foot.

"I don't need my eyes to be awake."

"If you don't then I'm eating your share." Gladio retorted in a light tone.

"Ugh, fiiiiine." Prompto forced his eyes open, seeing that it was still fairly light out. "How long has it been?" He asked dragging himself up to lean against the rock he had been sitting on earlier.

Ignis handed him the cooked fish on a stick. It wasn't exactly gourmet, but it was the best he could do with what was provided to him. "It's only been a couple of hours. Once we eat though, we will be on our way once again."

Prompto nodded and blew on his fish to cool it down a bit before taking a small bite to taste it. "This actually isn't that bad." He said and this time took an actual bite of the thing.

"Could be better, but I suppose it will suffice." He responded. His way of saying 'thank you' without using those words.

They ate in silence for a while, staying alert for any unwelcome guests that may show up. Fortunately for them it was rather peaceful, well aside from the slight paranoia. Once done, Gladio made quick work of snuffing out the fire, doing his best to cover signs that they had been there.

Gladio held out a helping hand to Prompto, "You ready?"

"Never been more ready in my life." He replied, taking the offered hand. Gladio easily pulled him up and was quick to steady him once he was standing. A small groan was the only indication he gave that he was feeling any discomfort.

"Good to go?" Gladio asked, making sure.

Prompto gave a thumbs up with his unoccupied hand, "Yup, ready when you guys are."

"We won't be making it to the ranch by tonight, but surely we will by sometime tomorrow." Ignis said as he set the pace. "I suggest we set up camp at the next safe area we come across, there's no telling when we'll come across another so we need to take the chance when we can."

"How far off to you think we are by now?" Noctis asked from behind him.

"I would say if we can go at least for a couple more hours tonight, then we can be there after about three hours of traveling tomorrow."

"If that's the case, why don't we just go in one shot. The sooner we get out of here the better for all of us."

"Do you really wish to be out here in the darkness?" Ignis asked rhetorically. "I do not think it would be a wise choice on our end. Not when one of us can barely defend themselves."

"Hey, I am fully capable of protecting myself." Prompto piped up. "Just because I need a little assistance means nothing."

"A little?" Gladio asked, "I'm practically carrying your ass as it is." As if to make his point more clear, he pulled Prompto's arm further around him to keep him more upright.

"Ow ow, hey now big guy, not so rough." Prompto replied, straightening himself out to make up for the lack of slack he now had. "And I could totally handle myself, just so you know."

Gladio cut his eyes over to him, "Then you won't mind me letting go of you."

"Well, I wouldn't say that exactly." Prompto laughed nervously. "But hypothetically speaking, if I had no other choice, I think I would be pretty ok." He continued to hop along Gladio's side, actually getting used to moving this way now.

"'Hypothetical', of course." Noctis butt in.

The light banter carried on for a little bit, but it began to dissipate as the sky began to darken. There was still enough light for them to see their way, but it was quickly waning and they had yet to come across anything that would have made a suitable shelter. At this point Ignis was beginning to get a bit worried that they would have to stay out in the opening. He didn't want to hae to do that, but it looked as though they would have no choice in the matter.

He held up his hand for the others to stop before he spoke, "We'll be stopping here for tonight. It's not exactly what I would consider acceptable, but it will have to do. Though, with the lack of coverage it would not be in our best interest to build a fire. We can't risk it being spotted by the imperials. And we will just have to hope that our luck is high enough."

"If you think we'll be fine here." Noctis didn't like the idea either, but he couldn't argue having nothing better himself.

"It's not that I think we'll be fine here, it's more like I would rather not be traveling in the dark. Safer to stay still at night than move around." He turned on his light to get a better look around. At least the area appeared rather flat and stable, so at least there was no worries there. "Gladio, you got first watch again?"

Gladio was in the process of getting Prompto situated on the ground, "Yeah, leave it to me."

"Didn't you take a watch last night though?" Prompto asked, "I mean, I could always take one, not like it takes a lot of energy or anything. Plus I got some sleep in earlier." He was already sitting himself up before anyone even had a chance to reply. Gladio instantly placed a hand on his chest and was pushing him back down.

"Not so fast there, no one agreed to that." He kept his hold there until he was sure he was staying down.

"But I'm fine. Iggy? Back me up here."

"Sorry Prompto, but I have to side with Gladio here."

"See? Wait, what?" Prompto whipped his head around to face Ignis now.

"At the moment you are in the most need of proper sleep, you may feel fine, but your body needs it." Ignis's words were final, and he knew there would be no convincing him otherwise.

Noctis raised his hand slightly. "I'm still here ya'know. I could always do it, I did get the full night last night as well, so I'm good to go."

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Ignis asked, being the mother of the group as usual.

"Iggy, I'll be fine. It's just watching."

"Alright, wake me up in a few hours to take over."

Noctis nodded as he sat himself next to a tree, in a position where he could easily see the others as well as their surroundings. It didn't take too long for the others to fall asleep and he was left to himself in the darkness.


	4. Worth the Time

**Welp, here it is, the last chapter. Hope everyone enjoyed it. I'll be writing more in the future, so if anyone has any suggestions on ideas feel free to send a message. ^-^**

There was a small tapping on his shoulder. Being the light sleeper he was Ignis awoke at once, automatically fully alert and aware of his surroundings. As soon as he showed signs of being awake and hand was placed over his mouth and there was a soft, "Shhh." He gazed up into Noctis' face, who was looking off into the distance, off into the trees somewhere. He glanced back down at Ignis before removing his hand and pointing in the direction he was just looking. "Something is out there." He softly whispered, barely audible to the point where even Ignis had a hard time catching it.

Ignis slipped his glasses on and stealthy got into a crouching position. It didn't take long for him to hear what Noctis was talking about. Shuffling leaves and a soft growl...soft growls. Whatever it was there were multiple and they seemed to be of descent size. So far it didn't feel like anything they couldn't handle, but they knew from experience how deceiving some of these daemons could be. Ignis crawled over to Gladio and woke him in the same manner that Noctis did to him. At first he swatted his hand away in his half-asleep state, but the second time he he could sense the urgency of the disturbance.

"What should we do? We could probably take them whatever they are." Noctis was preparing to draw his weapon.

Ignis grabbed his wrist to stop him. "Though it is true we could take them out, this is not the time nor place to do so. Not when we don't even know what it is, or how many."

"Iggy's right." Gladio agreed. "You can't charge into fights. You need to learn patience."

"We should try to slip out unnoticed if we haven't been spotted already." Ignis said, still listening to the shuffling for any indication of them getting closer. At the moment it sounded like there was still a bit of distance. "But whatever we do, we need to do it quick while we still have an advantage." He looked over to their fourth member to see him still asleep. "Gladio, you should wake Prompto up. Don't want him waking up when we move."

Gladio leaned over and tapped him on the cheek, "Hey." He whispered as quietly as possible. He got no reaction, so he tapped a bit harder. "Wake up, will ya?" He stirred a little before opening his eyes halfway. Gladio held a finger to his own lips when he saw the other about to speak. Catching on to the severity of the situation, he nodded in understanding and looked to the other two who were gazing off into the trees and followed there eyes.

He looked back up to Gladio, "What is that?"

Gladio shrugged in response. "I have no idea, but you better get ready to get out of here fast regardless. Which means I'm going to have to carry you."

Even though he hated the idea of it, he knew there was no way he would be able to move fast enough with support alone and that this would have probably been their only choice if they didn't want to fight.

"Nod when you're ready."

Prompto took a moment to mentally prepare himself, knowing it was going to suck. He closed his eyes tightly and quickly nodded once. Gladio slid his arms underneath him, and as carefully as he could, lifted him up. The blonde bit his lip to keep from making any sound, not trusting himself to hold anything back. Once Gladio had him securely in his arms he gave him a second to recover. Prompto took a couple deep and shaky breaths and opened his eyes. The other took that as the queue that he was good to go now.

Gladio turned back to the other two who were busy softly discussing their best route of escape. Prompto had his hands clasped together around Gladio's neck. It may have looked a little awkward, but he honestly wasn't concerned with that, only with the fact that it helped to bare the pain at least a little bit easier. Gladio didn't seem to mind either, or if he did he didn't show it.

"So, what's the plan?" Gladio whispered.

"We'll have to go around." Ignis pointed towards the direction he was talking about. "We'll have to move slowly and make a wide arch around them." He began moving, taking the lead. Noctis gestured for Gladio to go next, wanting to have the two currently capable ones on the ends. Then he took up the rear, making sure to take frequent glances behind him to make certain they weren't being followed by anyone or anything.

They kept low to the ground, only Ignis raised his head occasionally to get a good look around to make sure they stayed on course and weren't running into any others dangers. He was also trying to find the smoothest and easiest path for the sake of the two behind him. Even going as far as to hold branches back until Gladio was past it far enough.

He came to an abrupt stop when the shuffling settled down to silence. The others stopped behind him after almost running into him. For a moment they were slightly confused as to why he ceased until the dead air was filled with a bloodcurdling screech. This was much closer than before, and something completely different from what they were hearing earlier. Ignis assumed this new visitor must have scared off their previous ones, and now he much preferred the others.

He started to get worried when the shuffling picked up again, only much louder and faster this time. Not to mention getting very close very fast. They wouldn't have been able to outrun this now. Ignis grabbed Gladio on the shoulder, "You need to run. As fast as you can, just keep going forward. Noct and I will take care of this thing." When Prompto went to protest he quickly cut him off, "No time for arguing, just do what I say. I won't be having any unnecessary risks."

Prompto swallowed whatever it was he was about to say and decided to give in without complaint this once. He hated being useless, but even more than that, he hated getting in the way when he didn't have to. Instead he just held on tighter as Gladio got to his feet and continued forward at a sprinting speed, burying his face into the man's shoulder as he was forcefully jarred around.

Once they were far enough for Ignis to consider them safe from harm, he stood as well, and Noctis followed suit. By this time the creature was maybe only a few yards away. "I hope you're ready for a fight, Noct."

"Ready as ever." He replied, drawing his sword and warping into one of the trees overhead.

Ignis pushed up his glasses and readied his daggers. He waited until the target was in his sights before making his move. "Can you see it, Noct?"

Noctis kept his eyes on the silhouette he now saw prowling not far away. It was no longer charging for them, it seemed to be trying to track them now, but it wasn't moving towards them. "Dammit." He mumbled to himself, then continued a bit louder, "It's trying to hunt down the others. We have to attack it now." Without waiting for approval from the older man, he warp-striked it from behind, earning himself a pained screech from the creature.

"Rash as always, I see." Ignis said impatiently as he ran towards the fray. In the midst of all the blue lights it was rather difficult to make out what the creature was, but he was able to make out feathers if nothing else. He made to working out where the face was. Once he found it, he quickly stabbed one of his daggers into what he assumed was one of its beady eyes, and just hoped he was right.

By the way it screamed, he was guessing that he was correct in his assumption. It reeled in retaliation to the intruding blade, swinging around and bucking Noctis off in the process. Lucky for the prince he was able to warp before he was in any real danger.

"You ok specs?" He called from his position on the other side, unable to see the other man.

There was a few seconds of silence before he got any response. "Everything's good on my end. Wish visibility was better, but other than that, no problems."

"Glad to hear." Noctis warped towards the creature again, this time taking out its other eye and returned back to his original spot in the tree, right above Ignis. "At this rate it's gonna draw everything in with all the noise it's making."

"If that's the case then we better finish it off fast." Ignis replied, charging back in.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Gladio and Prompto could hear the screeching and commotion from where they were, though Gladio never hesitated nor slowed down his pace. He kept moving and ignored everything else. He looked down and saw the other's face still buried and felt his hands tighten a bit more around his neck. He knew all the running had to be rough on his knee, but he wouldn't take any chances by slowing down.

Prompto pulled his face away long enough to voice his concerns, "Do you think they'll be ok back there? I mean we don't know what that thing was and it's just the two of them."

"You don't need to worry about them." He tried to reassure him, "They are strong after all. Iggy won't take any risky measures, and you have to remember that I trained Noctis myself. He may be a bit reckless, but that's what Iggy is for, to keep him in check."

"I'm not doubting they're strong, I just don't like leaving them behind like this." He looked past Gladio's shoulder, "Look, I can't do much, but if you just leave me in a spot that's well enough hidden, you can go back and help, and I promise I won't give away where I am this ti-"

"Shut up!" Gladio yelled a little harsher than he meant to. "That's enough, I'm not doing that. I said I was going to keep running, and that's what I'm going to do dammit. You can bitch and moan all you want, but it's not going to change a thing." Prompto did nothing but stare up at him. "I promise you, they'll come out of this fine." He added in a softer tone.

Prompto's breath hitched, though he wasn't sure if it was from pain or pure gratitude, or a mixture of both, but it was a new feeling to him that he wasn't used to. "Ok." Was all he responded with, he wasn't sure what else he could say to that. Instead he returned his head to where it was and just let Gladio do what he thought was best for everyone.

Gladio slowed down a considerable amount when he deemed it safe. It was obvious the younger of the two was really feeling the effects of the trip now. Even if he didn't voice it, he couldn't keep the occasional gasp and whimper from escaping. "How're you holding up?" He asked, glancing down at him.

"A little uncomfortable, but I'll live." He assured with a small smile ghosting his face.

"Hmm, just what I like to hear. Just hold in there a little longer, it shouldn't be too long now."

He felt him move his head slightly, "I trust you, Gladdy." He whispered before going limp in his arms, finally giving in.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Ignis retrieved his dagger from the fallen creature's eye and wiped it off before dismissing it. Noctis was next to him, breathing heavily from the fight. He wiped off his brow and dismissed his own weapon. Ignis placed a hand on Noctis' shoulder, "Come on, we better find the others before either of us run into more trouble." He took off towards the ranch, wasting no time to get to their friends.

"Right." He replied, following right after. He was just as anxious to verify the others' safety as Ignis was.

They ran for almost an hour with still no trace of the others. But on the bright side they came across no enemies, and more importantly came across no bodies. Noctis didn't know if he should be worried or relieved by this, but he felt as though no sign was better than bad signs. "I hope they didn't get off course." He said mainly to himself than anything.

"I don't think you need to worry about that." Ignis said from ahead. "Gladio is quite capable when it comes to this stuff, if anyone can head in the right direction in the outdoors, it's him." He scanned the area to make sure they were still in the clear. "We'll keep moving forward until we run into them, even if we have to go all the way to the ranch."

"No arguments here."

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

There was light chirping outside, a chirping Prompto knew all too well. It was that sweet sound the pulled him into the world of the living. The first thing he became aware of was how stiff he felt, like he hadn't moved in weeks. His right leg being the worse. With that feeling though came all the memories with it, and the last thing he remembered was running away and leaving Ignis and Noctis behind. As if he had just been splashed with cold water he immediately shot up, looking around frantically.

Just as quickly there was a pair of hands on his shoulders pushing him back down. "Whoa there, take it easy." He didn't realize how fast he was breathing and how fast his heart was beating until he took a moment to try and compose himself.

He looked to his left where the voice was coming from and came face to face with Gladio. "Gladdy?" He whispered out.

"Yeah I'm here, everything is fine now." He said as calmly as he could, not sure of the younger was still in panic mode or not.

"Noct, Iggy, are they... are they alright? Did they make it back?" He asked quickly, not pausing between questions.

"Relax kid, they're fine. They went to pick up somethings, they'll be back soon, so just lie there until they get back." He pulled the sheet back up. It wasn't until he did that that Prompto realized they were in a room. Gladio saw the confusion on his face. "We're at the ranch, took nearly all night to get here, but we got here somehow. Really lucked out if you ask me."

"Well, you kept your word to Iggy at least, maybe a little too well." He laughed to himself. He placed a hand on his leg over the sheet when he felt the dull throb slowly start to return.

"Does it hurt?" Gladio asked, not missing the motion.

Prompto's eyes widened a little, a little uncomfortable with genuine concern. "Hm? Oh, just a little, but it's not nearly as bad as it was."

Gladio leaned back in his chair, "We gave you what we could for it, well what Wiz could spare anyway, but with that kind of damage it'll still need a little bit of time to mend itself." He saw the small drop of his expression. "But don't worry too much, it will heal completely as long as you don't push it. That means no fussing when we tell you not to do stuff."

"Yeah yeah, I got it." Though there was no sign of annoyance in his voice. He was about to say something else when he heard footsteps coming towards the room. His eyes moved on their own accord as the door opened and he was greeted with two familiar faces. His own lit up at the sight. If it wasn't for Gladio's previous words, he would have been up in an instant, throwing his arms around the two of them.

"Good to see you awake this time." Ignis said, walking in first.

"Good to see you two alive and unharmed." Prompto replied, pulling himself up so he was sitting, wincing slightly.

"Did you really think we wouldn't be able to handle something as easy as a little daemon?" Noctis said, coming in next.

"Little? That thing sounded like it was at least the size of a dual horn." He noticed Noctis was holding something in his hand, but it was obscured by the door enough that he couldn't make it out. "Watcha got there, Noct?" He asked curiously.

"Oh right." He held it up into view and handed it over to him. It was a camera, it wasn't his, but it looked new. "We never got the chance to go back for yours, so I picked one up while we were gone. I know nothing about those things, so I hope I picked out a decent one."

Prompto gingerly took the offered gift, unable to contain his gratitude. "Are you kidding? You didn't have to." He turned it over in his hands, running his fingers over it. "This is incredible, it's actually better than my other." He lowered it down to his lap. "I-I don't know how to thank you guys, for any of this. I don't deserve friends like you guys."

Gladio got to his feet and ruffled the blonde's hair roughly, "Hey, shut up."

Noctis painted a thumb at Gladio, "Do what he says and shut up and deal with it."

Ignis joined in, "You'll have no choice but to accept it as it is. If we see you as worth our time and effort, then you are. Whether you see it that way or not, it's true."


End file.
